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Behavioral analysis of substrate texture preference in a leech, Helobdella austinensis

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Abstract

Leeches in the wild are often found on smooth surfaces, such as vegetation, smooth rocks or human artifacts such as bottles and cans, thus exhibiting what appears to be a “substrate texture preference”. Here, we have reproduced this behavior under controlled circumstances, by allowing leeches to step about freely on a range of silicon carbide substrates (sandpaper). To begin to understand the neural mechanisms underlying this texture preference behavior, we have determined relevant parameters of leech behavior both on uniform substrates of varying textures, and in a behavior choice paradigm in which the leech is confronted with a choice between rougher and smoother substrate textures at each step. We tested two non-exclusive mechanisms which could produce substrate texture preference: (1) a Differential Diffusion mechanism, in which a leech is more likely to stop moving on a smooth surface than on a rough one, and (2) a Smoothness Selection mechanism, in which a leech is more likely to attach its front sucker (prerequisite for taking a step) to a smooth surface than to a rough one. We propose that both mechanisms contribute to the texture preference exhibited by leeches.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Lidia Szczupak and members of the Weisblat lab for helpful comments on the manuscript. EACHH was supported by NIH NRSA F32 NS095665.

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Author notes

  1. Elizabeth A. C. Heath-Heckman

    Present address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, 385 LSA, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3200, USA

    Rachel C. Kim, Kenny Ma, Elizabeth A. C. Heath-Heckman & David A. Weisblat

  2. Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, 3119 Pacific Hall, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Dylan Le & William B. Kristan Jr.

  3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Nathan Whitehorn

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Correspondence to David A. Weisblat.

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Kim, R.C., Le, D., Ma, K. et al. Behavioral analysis of substrate texture preference in a leech, Helobdella austinensis. J Comp Physiol A 205, 191–202 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-019-01317-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-019-01317-5

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